Device for transmitting the lateral rotation of guns to predictors



Jan, 4,

C. L HAUBROE DEVICE FOR TRANSMITTING THE LATERAL ROTATION OF G UNS TO PREDICTORS Filed Jan. 11 1940 INVVENTQRI FITTQHNEY Patented Jan. 4, 1944 'DEVICE FOR TRANSMTTING THE LATERAL ROTATION OF GUNS TO PREDICTORS Werner Christian Lassen Haubroe, Copenhagen,

Denmark; vested in the Alien Property Custodian Application January 11, 1940, Serial No. 313,396 In Denmark August 1, 1939 1 Claim.

When the lateral rotation of a gun is to be transmitted to a predictor or calculating box, the sighting members of which, as is Well known, are to follow automatically the directing motions of the gun, a flexible shaft for transmitting the rotation can hardly be constructed in a technically satisfactory manner, and the transmission must therefore be effected by way of the trunnion axis of the gun, i. e. the lateral rotation must be transformed into a rotation about the said axis. If the intermediate member inserted for this purpose on the trunnion axis of the gun were a simple gear-wheel transmission, however, the lateral rotation would be increased or reduced, during the transmission, by the angle of elevation, if the gun at the same time is elevated or plunged. In order to avoid such a distortion of the lateral rotation, a double differential has heretofore been resorted to, as by the use of such a double differential as an intermediate member in the transmission the result is attained that the angular elevating motion of the gun will automatically be subtracted from, or added to, the sum of angular motion transmitted primarily to the differential.

The double differential, however, when used for this purpose, suifers from the drawback that it gives rise to dead motion and friction and, consequently does not operate quite accurately. Besides, it is in itself rather expensive.

The present invention has for it object to avoid using the double differential, without the necesity of using the flexible shaft. The object thus aimed at is attained while using solely simple gear-wheel transmission, by taking care to arrange the gear-wheel transmissions of the angleentering devices in such a manner that the elevating rotation is entered to the part of the predictor to which the lateral angular motion is transmitted, in such a manner that the elevating rotation entered has a direction of rotation that is opposite to the elevating rotation added to (subtracted from) the lateral rotation. The entire predictor may thus be considered to be a differential in which the lateral adjustment is cleaned automatically for the increase in elevation effected in the gear-wheel transmission about the trunnion axis.

The invention is illustrated by the drawing.

Fig. 1 shows diagrammatically how the lateral rotation and the elevating rotation are transmitted to the predictor, while Fig. 2, similarly in outline, shows a portion of the members by way of which a lateral rotation is transmitted, in side elevation.

A is the trunnion axis of the gun, B the barrel axis and C the predictor.

a, b, c and d are transmission shafts, and l, 2-3, 3, '5, 6, l and 8 are gear-wheels on the same (24, however, a double gear-wheel mounted loosely on the trunnion axis) all serving to transmit the lateral rotation (rotation in azimuth) to the predictor which is movable with the gun barrel, while 6 and f are transmission shafts and 9, ill, 5!, i2 and iii are gear-wheels on the said shafts (9, however, on the trunnion shaft) all serving to transmit the elevating rotation to the predictor.

The shaft b is stationary, relatively to the barrel axis B, as the sighting members of the predictor must necessarily follow the barrel axis, during the motions of the gun.

0n the drawing, the lateral rotation is indicated by arrows u and the elevating rotation by arrows 95.

It is seen that if the gun is turned in azimuth, without being at the same time elevated or plunged, only the lateral rotation u will be transmitted from shaft a to shaft 12. If, on the other hand, the gun is at the same time elevated through the angle gb, then the gear-wheel 4 in consequence of the elevation will rotate through the angle P, relatively to the gear-Wheel 3 (2-3) and the shafts b, c, at will therefore, all depending on the direction of the lateral rotation, trans mil; to the predictor a rotation equal to the sum of, or diiference between, the lateral and the elevating rotations (i. e. u+ or u, as shown).

By way of the gear-wheels 9, it, H, I2, l3, however, the elevation angle will at the same time be transmitted to the predictor, but with a direction of rotation opposite the one with which the same elevation angle has been transmitted together with the lateral rotation.

Notwithstanding the principle underlying the construction of the predictor, it is thus feasible to let the two -values annihilate each other, relatively to u, while still the lastly transmitted will be available for use in the predictor.

Havin thus described my invention, what I I claim is:

Mechanism, for transmitting the angular movements of a gun mounted to have movement aboutits vertical and trunnion axes to a predictor unit mounted to. move in correspondence with said gun about said axes, comprising a shaft disposed parallel to the vertical axis and mounted to turn with movements of the gun about said vertical axis, a gear secured to said shaft, a freely rotatable gear device mounted for rotation coaxially of the gun trunnion axis and meshing with said gear, said gear being adapted to transmit to said gear device movements of rotation of said gun about the vertical axis, gearing movable with and extending into said predictor unit, said gearing comprising a second gear meshing with said gear device at one side of the trunnion axis, a third gear mounted coaxially of the gun trunnion axis, and a transmission movable with the gun relapredictor unit, said transmission including a fourth gear meshing with said third gear at a side of said trunnion shaft ooposite said second gear whereby during simultaneous movements of the gun about its vertical and trunnion axes the rotation imnarted to the fourth gear provides a correction for the rotation imparted to the second gear due to movements of the gun about its trunnion axis.

tive to said third gear and extending into said 10 WERNER. CHRISTIAN LASSEN HAUBRO-E- 

